#169-170 Vida Blue Vida Blue In Action

The Man of 1971....the lefthander was the talk of baseball not seen until the arrival of Mark Fydrich five years later...Born in Louisiana, drafted by the KC A’s in 1967....a raw talent....late season debut in 1969....showed tools but not knowledge...another year of seasoning and Vida gets a second call up....makes the most it by no hitting AL champion Minnesota Twins....Blue serves notice he will be a force to be reckoned with in the future....takes AL Cy Young and MVP honors based on 24 wins and ERA of 1.82....youngest to win an all star game....Sought a pay raise for 1972...Owner Charley Finley balked at the notion beginning a standoff....Blue agrees to terms in early May and doesn’t start until the end of the month....out of synch but his athletic side ekes out a 2.80 ERA and mundane 6-10 record....An alienating move to all....returned to approximate form 1973 winning 20....after a solid 17 wins in 1974, upswings to 22 wins 1975....best effort since 1971....the intended dismantlement of A’s in 1976, had Blue sold off to the Yankees midseason....deal was nixed by the commissioner....the whole affair cost starts.... Blue continued to serve sentence in Oakland for 1977 one of the few holdovers from a gutted team....takes the win in 14 games and league leading 19 losses.... History repeats itself in lesser known is Blue’s nixed trade to Cincinnati in the off season....fooled the 1978 edition of The Complete Handbook of Baseball... Vida finally gets his long sought walking papers via trade across the bay to San Francisco....responds with strong 18 win campaign....1979-80 wins 14 games each with vastly different ERA’s....Blue’s 1981 is highlighted by his second all star game win the only person to do so for different leagues overshadowing a 8-6 record in strike shortened year.....1982 Blue lands in KC, which eventually uncovered a darker side....on the field started well initially then faded badly with 0-5 record 1983....was arrested, did jail time, and suspended on drug charges for all of 1984...signed on with Giants was able to make a respectable showing 18-18 over two years...career and problems were similar to Dock Ellis....would be a candidate for hall of fame if his career had less delays, bumps, and drama....some not of his making.